June 21st through 29th, 2026
Though we'd had an amazing time on the west coast of the United States, it felt like Canada was our 2026 target. We hadn't been out of the states with the motorhome yet, so it was an exciting time packing up to head for the border. We left Eureka, Montana to head seven miles farther north to British Columbia, Canada.
The line of cars was short, and getting through the border was easy because we were prepared. We spent our first mile or so converting the motorhome and phones over to kilometers instead of miles, but we got it figured out.
We were sure it was our imaginations and excitement, but it was somehow more beautiful as soon as we hit British Columbia. It was green and pretty, and the mountains were getting bigger. The drive to our campground in Radium Hot Springs was also beautiful along a narrow canyon. The campground was lovely, though we had to go through a bit of hassle when we first got there. The campground was at the bottom of a small canyon, and the trailer had to go up near the road at the top of the hill. We took the car out and then had to run the trailer back up and park it before we got to our site.
Our site was huge and in the trees near big expanses of green grass and a stream. It really couldn't have been nicer. The town was also really nice, with good restaurants. We noticed what others have said: the food in Canada is just better. The produce was fresher, the cheese was amazing, and everything we had in restaurants was just so good. We went to an Austrian restaurant in town a few times, and really enjoyed our stay.
There are a lot of Canadian National Parks near Radium Hot Springs, so it was the perfect place to set up home base. Unlike the jaw-dropping new park prices for nonresidents in the United States, all Canadian parks were free for everyone all summer. We made up for that as best we could by donating and spending money in the parks.
The national parks in Canada are very different from the parks in the United States. Most U.S. parks have big visitor centers with videos, museums, displays, and stores where you can buy a lot of branded merchandise. In Canada, we mostly found a couple postcards, if we were lucky. It seemed they were mostly about helping us find hiking and less about the history or geology of places. We like the U.S. approach a bit better, but we still loved the parks.
We got lucky and discovered GuideAlong just before getting to Canada. The company sells audio tours that you download to your phone, and then when you get to a spot with information the audio automatically comes on over your car speakers. We named the tour guide "Jed" and he told us all about Canada while we were there. It was really awesome, so we spent more money to buy all of the tours in the U.S., too.
Our first park in Canada was Jasper National Park, about five hours north of Radium Hot Springs. We left the motorhome at home base, picked up some tasty sandwiches at the market in town, and then spent a long weekend in Hinton, Alberta in a dog-friendly, nice hotel. The drive to Hinton was the highlight of our Canadian trip filled with highlights, even though it was rainy and overcast. It was special because of the Icefields Parkway, a long road that takes you through big mountains covered in icefields and glaciers. We also went through some of Kootenay National Park right next to home base, Banff National Park, and the town of Jasper.
On our first full day in Jasper National Park, we did the Maligne Lake Boat Cruise. It was amazing! The water was gorgeous, and the tour was really nice. We planned on a hike, but the trail was closed. Instead, we ate at the Maligne Lake Chalet where we had a window seat looking at the lake. It really was the perfect day.
The next day, we headed west to visit that side of the park. First, we stopped at Jasper House National Historic Site and did a short walk to a deck that overlooked where the house used to be. There was nothing else there, but the walk was nice.
We went through Jasper up to Yellowhead Pass National Historic Site, a nice area with signs at the top of a highway pass. We were going to turn around, but instead we decided to keep going west to Mount Robson Park. We were glad we did, because it was a short trip filled with many animals. Canada has a lot of animals to see, but this brief trip showed us bighorn sheep, elk, and bears. The visitor center at Mount Robson was a good one, too.
We were heading back to the hotel and still had some daylight left, so we stopped at Pyramid Lake based on recommendations from GuideAlong. It ended up being a real highlight. It was a lovely walk to a small island with great views of the water and the mountains around it. We even saw more bears on the way. And we ate BeaverTails before we headed back to the hotel. Another perfect day!
Our drive back was the first sunny day we'd had since we left Radium Hot Springs, and it was beautiful. We stopped at Athabasca Falls, a gorgeous area with established trails where we could take Lacey. We hung out there for a long while.
The beautiful, sunny day turned to a smoky day as we got farther south to Radium Hot Springs. The fires in Canada were raging, and it was so sad to see. Still, it's nature's way of keeping forests healthy so we tried to see the good side of things. It didn't mess up the gorgeous drive.
It was such a good time, staying just outside of Jasper National Park. It was such a good time that Margot's iPad didn't want to leave, and it took a lot of effort (and money) on both sides to get it mailed back to her in Radium Hot Springs, but they were eventually reunited.
We enjoyed some downtime for a couple days, and then we were off to see more of Canada. Stay tuned for Part 2!
Linda
6 Sep 2026Sounds like a great time! I would go back anytime.
Monica
6 Sep 2026It was so amazing — we can’t stop talking about it. The Colorado Rockies are impressive (and it feels like “home” to us), but there is really something special about the Canadian Rockies.